NMHS Class of 2024 Local Scholarship Application
Rather than everyone managing their own separate scholarship application processes, there are about 20 local organizations that partner with the NMHS Counseling Office to determine candidate pools for their scholarships. Because of that, when a student fills this out, it's like filling out several scholarship applications at once!
The NMHS Local Scholarship deadline for the Class of 2024 was February 29, 2024.
The NMHS Local Scholarship deadline for the Class of 2024 was February 29, 2024.
Featured Scholarships
Several scholarship sources send their information to the Counseling Office and NMHS teachers, asking us to pass word of their scholarship opportunities on to our students.
This school year, we are using a Class of 2024 Google Classroom to send that info out to seniors as we receive it. Seniors were sent an invitation to the classroom earlier this school year. If you transferred in or if you did not see/accept that invitation, talk to your school counselor and we'll re-send your invitation or give you the join code.
This school year, we are using a Class of 2024 Google Classroom to send that info out to seniors as we receive it. Seniors were sent an invitation to the classroom earlier this school year. If you transferred in or if you did not see/accept that invitation, talk to your school counselor and we'll re-send your invitation or give you the join code.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
(video furnished by studentaid.ed.gov; see more on their YouTube channel)
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Did you know...
FAFSA Help/FAQs US Dept of Ed Student Aid Main Page: studentaid.ed.gov |
Georgia HOPE and other state aid Programs - www.GAFutures.org
The HOPE Scholarship, Zell Miller Scholarship, and other GA-funded higher education financial aid are administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). The latest and most detailed information on eligibility for these funding opportunities is best found on their website for future and current college students, www.gafutures.org. Brief descriptions about some of the key funding sources are given here for your convenience, but do not substitute for your viewing the full eligibility details on GA Futures.
To apply for either of these funding opportunities, the fundamental steps are:
HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships are for Georgia residents who have demonstrated academic achievement and are pursuing a degree program at an eligible postsecondary institution in Georgia.
HOPE and Zell Miller Grants are for Georgia residents who are working towards a technical certificate or diploma at an eligible postsecondary institution in Georgia. Unlike the HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarships, this award does not depend on earning a certain high school GPA. Rather, eligibility for HOPE/Zell Miller Grants is established when you earn and maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA in the technical certificate or diploma program itself.
The HOPE Career Grant is a variation of and supplement to the abovementioned HOPE/Zell Miller Grants. It is available to HOPE Grant-qualified students who enroll in select majors specifically aligned with industries in which there are more jobs available in Georgia than there are skilled workers to fill them. These industries have been identified as strategically important to the state’s economic growth, so to help grow the number of skilled workers in these industries, GA HOPE Career Grant will cover a large portion of a HOPE/Zell Miller Grant-eligible student's education at a Technical College System of GA school if they are pursuing technical education in one of the industries currently identified. For more information (including the currently funded industries/programs), see TCSG's HOPE Career Grant page.
To apply for either of these funding opportunities, the fundamental steps are:
- Complete the FAFSA (see FAFSA information/links above) OR the Georgia Student Finance Application (GSFApps)
- Be accepted to an eligible postsecondary institution in the state of Georgia
HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships are for Georgia residents who have demonstrated academic achievement and are pursuing a degree program at an eligible postsecondary institution in Georgia.
- The HOPE Scholarship, newly effective for those enrolling in college in Fall 2023, covers 100% of a student's GA public college tuition! For private college tuition at an eligible private college in GA, HOPE Scholarship pays a flat per-credit rate. To become eligible for the HOPE Scholarship, a GA high school student student must graduate with a 3.0 HOPE GPA (only core and world language credits are factored into HOPE GPA).
- The Zell Miller Scholarship covers 100% tuition of a student's GA public college tuition, or a larger per-credit rate toward eligible private college tuition in GA. To become eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship, a GA high school student must graduate with a 3.7 HOPE GPA, and meet one of the following test requirements prior to graduation:
- On a single administration of the SAT, earn a combined score of 1200 or higher; OR
- On a single administration of the ACT, earn a composite score of 25 or higher.
- Additional requirement for both HOPE and Zell Miller eligibility: Beginning with the class of 2017, students must earn at least 4 credits in courses considered to be "rigor courses" by the GSFC. The list of rigor courses identified by GSFC reflects courses with technically advanced content (such as upper level maths, lab sciences, etc.). A student does not have to take NMHS's "Honors" courses to earn rigor course credits for HOPE/Zell Miller. At NMHS, students whose core course selection is geared for future enrollment at a four-year college typically do not have trouble meeting this requirement. Typically, an NMHS graduate aiming for a four-year college will have taken Chemistry, Physics, Algebra II, a senior level math (Precalculus or College Readiness Math), and Spanish II--all of which are considered rigor courses by the GSFC! Click here for the list of HOPE Rigor courses offered at NMHS.
HOPE and Zell Miller Grants are for Georgia residents who are working towards a technical certificate or diploma at an eligible postsecondary institution in Georgia. Unlike the HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarships, this award does not depend on earning a certain high school GPA. Rather, eligibility for HOPE/Zell Miller Grants is established when you earn and maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA in the technical certificate or diploma program itself.
The HOPE Career Grant is a variation of and supplement to the abovementioned HOPE/Zell Miller Grants. It is available to HOPE Grant-qualified students who enroll in select majors specifically aligned with industries in which there are more jobs available in Georgia than there are skilled workers to fill them. These industries have been identified as strategically important to the state’s economic growth, so to help grow the number of skilled workers in these industries, GA HOPE Career Grant will cover a large portion of a HOPE/Zell Miller Grant-eligible student's education at a Technical College System of GA school if they are pursuing technical education in one of the industries currently identified. For more information (including the currently funded industries/programs), see TCSG's HOPE Career Grant page.
Independent Scholarship Search Notes/Tools
SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH PRO-TIPS
SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH ENGINES
- SCAM ALERT - Never pay for a scholarship search! There are companies out there who will charge you to do a scholarship search for you. They do not/cannot guarantee any awards, so avoid these. (Also, why pay for anything htat you can do yourself for free?) Learn more about scholarship and financial aid scams from the Federal Trade Commission.
- See what your college offers, too! Typically, your school of choice will also offer scholarships. Some may be included in your financial aid award offer automatically once you're accepted. There's often many more, though, that you need to apply to individually through your school's financial aid page or within the department of your program of study. Visit your post-secondary school's financial aid webpage to see what scholarships are offered, the criteria, and the deadlines involved.
- Renewable vs. Nonrenewable - Renewable scholarships are those that you can continue receiving year to year as long as you remain eligible. Nonrenewable scholarships are one-time scholarships. ALL of these are helpful (free money is free money!), but when budgeting for college it's important to know the difference. A common pitfall is that students will secure plenty of scholarships for freshman year of college, but quit college when their nonrenewable scholarships aren't there to help them afford college the following year. That doesn't have to be the case--see the next pro-tip!
- Don't stop after senior year! Scholarships aren't just for high school seniors about to head to higher education. Many scholarships are open to current college students. Continue your scholarship search when planning ahead for each year of college. This helps you continue to afford college year to year by finding replacements for any nonrenewable scholarships you receive.
- Think ahead when you "Sign in With Google." Since the scholarship search process isn't just for high school seniors about to head to higher education, you should probably use your personal Google or set up a regular login for tools like those linked below. That way, when you graduate and your Murray County Schools email shuts down, you won't also lose access to your scholarship search accounts.
SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH ENGINES
- Scholarships search on GAfutures.org (no login required)
- FastWeb: Login required. By completing a profile about your academic performance, interests, extracurricular activities, etc., FastWeb can compare your profile to the eligibility requirements of over 1.5 million scholarships in its database. You can browse the results list and apply to any you are interested in and eligible for.
- Going Merry: Login required. By completing a profile about your academic performance, interests, extracurricular activities, etc., Going Merry can compare your profile to the eligibility requirements of thousands of scholarships. What's more is that when you fill out a scholarship application field once through Going Merry, your answer will be saved for any future time that same field shows up on another scholarship application.
- Scholarships.com: Login required. Scholarships.com boasts 3 million scholarship listings and counting, but provides the tools to help you sift, save, and apply for the ones you might actually be eligible for.
- College Covered: No login required. With our free scholarship search tool, students can get a list of scholarship options based on their academics, hobbies, ethnicity and more pulled from the full list of over 3 million scholarships. In addition to the scholarship search, this resource offers more information about the FAFSA, the college financial aid timeline, and more. Also, you can register for a $2,500 scholarship drawing from Discover by signing up for their scholarship tips/resources email list. This scholarship search service is facilitated by Discover Card, but does not require a student/parent to be a Discover customer.
- BestColleges: No login required. Featuring roughly 20,300 scholarships, you can search the BestColleges college scholarship database by a combination of state, college program of study, GPA requirements, grade level eligibility, ethnicity requirements, etc. After filtering the database down, read through the results and apply to whichever you may be interested in and eligible for! This site also features a college ranking database; to avoid college rank listings that feature/favor sponsored results, use the "See All Rankings" or "Search Our Database" features.
- Also, College Board (publisher of SAT) offers entries for Opportunity Scholarships to those completing certain tasks on Big Future. Big Future is College Board's free postsecondary planning tool that a student can use their College Board account to access and save progress in. See our Explore Colleges and Careers page for more about Big Future.
- StudentScholarships.org: No login required. Claims to be the largest collection of scholarships on the web, but even if it's not it has a vast scholarship list. Without a login, students can see recently added scholarships and read resources about higher education, softskills, and careers. If a student creates a login, however, students can access on-demand the full scholarship database, and receive or download a newsletter that highlights scholarships with near-future deadlines.
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